


daytime inquiries

by moonrisn



Series: a friend in the water [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Other, Platonic Relationships, also very minor angst, lapslock, mermaid au, mermaid lee know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26432458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonrisn/pseuds/moonrisn
Summary: stored away in your trusty journal, you had notes and questions for your silver-haired friend. and stored away in his heart, minho would always had answers, trust, and peace for you.
Relationships: Lee Minho | Lee Know/Reader
Series: a friend in the water [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921348
Kudos: 2





	daytime inquiries

"...can i see your journal?" minho's voice, though as quiet as the sloshing of the neighborhood pool water, broke your intent focus on the contents of your notebook, and made you turn, eyes quickly focusing on him instead. having been so focused in your note-taking and sketch-work, you had honestly almost forgotten he was sitting beside you and, for a second, wondered why he wasn't in the pool cooling off.

instead, he was sat right next to you on the metal bleachers, a small wet towel wrapped around his neck and arms crossed loosely over his knees. his eyes were looking between you and the journal sitting in your lap, a curious expression on his face as he tried to see what it was that had you so quiet for the past few minutes.

"huh?" putting down your pencil and (not very) subtly trying to cover your work with your hands, your focus was now fully on the boy beside you, "sorry, what'd you say?"

"i said 'can i see your journal'? unless your work is highly classified, that is," he pointed to your hands that in fact covered most of your work, "it seemed like what you're working on looked awfully familiar," he said with a bit of a playful smirk.

and he wasn't wrong actually, as it was very, very familiar. for what you were sketching and writing about was the very boy sitting beside you, or at least, the form he often took that very few had the chance to see. to another person, it most likely looked like the quick notes of a scientist or explorer that discovered a rare, exotic creature from the ocean deep, but to you, it was notes about your friend who simply lived only three houses down from yours; notes about the slit-like gills he had that flared when he was upset, notes about the beautiful sheen of his silver-scaled lower half, notes about how effortlessly he moved when in the water; many more little notes here and there that decorate your journal pages; all of which you normally didn't want him to see

the only exception being unless he asked, of course. which, in this case, he did.

“uhm,” mulling over his question, you slightly turned towards the pool in front of you and thought about it; your main concern being that he would get mad, and you would understand if he did. after taking a moment to think over your decision, not really noticing minho's playful smirk slowly fall and his face almost turn into a look of concern, you carefully moved your hands to show him, "...alright," you said, a hint of worry in your tone. you moved to place the journal in his hands, your own now fiddling with your pencil nervously.

as minho looked over the various scribbles and drawings that decorated the pages, a feeling of regret quickly began to grow in your stomach. he said as nothing as he read, only a small occasional hum of acknowledgement could be heard as he flipped through the journal, eyes sometimes stopping on an occasional question you wrote down or an unsure sketch you made in haste.

for a moment, you debated on just taking it back and immediately apologizing, then throwing the book into the trash once you and him got up to go home.

your mouth, however, seemed to move faster than your hands could and you quickly began apologizing, "h-hey, min, i'm sorry. i-i know i probably should've asked or told you beforehand, i just wanted to put down some stuff and leave it at that, i swear, but-" your nervous rambling came to a halt as he took the pencil you were fiddling with and started making some notes of his own in your journal, your nervousness quickly mixing with shock, "hey! what're you doing?!"

his 'notes' were more like markers for later, little asterisks near certain questions you had written down, along with some additional scribbles of his own next to yours, careful not to mess up your work, "just making some adjustments," he murmured as he wrote, as if he was mimicking your state of intense focus from earlier.

"adjustments? adjustments to what?" a confused expression was painted on your face as he then handed your notebook back to you, seeming finished with his editing. letting out a small 'oh' in realization, you let your eyes linger over the small, somewhat crude scribbles he made in comparison to your own.

"see? just some small adjustments," he said, letting his knee gently bump yours, "i wouldn't want to mess up your hard work, marine biologist in training," at that, you let out a small huff from your nose in acknowledgement, aware that he was trying to calm your nervousness.

there was a small pause before you spoke, your voice unsure, "well, i-i mean, i mean you're not mad?"

"no? why would i be mad?" he said, as if it was obvious.

"i mean, well, aren't you worried someone's going to see this and assume it’s you?" you said with your voice lowering to a whisper, as if worried someone was listening in on your conversation; an unlikely thing, as you and minho were the only ones as the pool at the moment. "i-i mean, you know i'm no blabbermouth, but, still."

after a pause, turning his head away to look forward as he thought, he turned back to you before replying, his own voice quiet, "well, no. not really," another pause, this time shorter, "because i trust you," he said, as if that, too, was obvious.

it took a bit for minho's words to sink in, the cogs in your brain turning as you let the words settle in, letting them rest like a comfort blanket and slowly bringing you a feeling of peace. the nervousness, the uneasiness, the quick pangs of fear you'd feel in your chest upon thinking he'd be infuriated with you, all of it washed away as if it didn't matter anymore. instead, a warm feeling of relief began to warm your chest as you focused your eyes back onto minho, his warm smile seeming to greet your return.

"you...you trust me?"

"yes, (name), i trust you." as if to emphasize his point, he turned his body towards you and gently picked up one of your hands in his own. carefully intertwining your fingers and his together, you could feel a thin webbing between his fingers begin to push against yours, along with his now black nails starting to gently poke the back of your hand. under your own fingers, you could feel the familiar smooth scales that were often painted onto the back of his hands.

shifting his hand ever so slightly from one form to the other right before your eyes, he wanted to show you, in a way he knew you'd understand, just how much he truly trusted you, "i know we haven't been friends for a really, really long time," a pause as he thought over his words, "but something tells me that i can trust you with...well, 'me'," he said again, his voice steady and warm.

giving a gentle squeeze to his hand, a warm smile bloomed on your lips in response. you supposed you had to tell him later, for no words could properly describe the feelings of relief and happiness you felt within the moment. so, for now, you settled with a quiet "thank you, min", giving another squeeze, feeling him give one in return, before reluctantly letting his hand go.

and for a few moments, there was a comfortable silence between the two of you, a need for conversation absent as you went back to your notebook and minho now to his phone.

and the both of you were content.

\---

though, as content as you were and as peaceful as it was, it didn't last long.

"so, what did you mean by 'ask about leg hair' followed by three question marks?"

"oh my god, really? out of all the questions, you picked that one to bring up?" you swatted at his knee with your pencil. though a reasonable question when you first thought about it, it now seemed more embarrassing and a little silly when said out loud.

"i mean, i'm just wondering!" he said with a laugh in his voice, "you wrote that question, not me!"

letting out a groaned 'oh my god, fine' (playfully, of course), you pointed at his swim-short clad legs with the flattened eraser from your pencil, "i mean, where does the hair go? because the last time i checked, many fish don't have hair on their scales."

"really? i never knew," he replied sarcastically, covering his knees as you swatted at him again. minho looked down at his legs and paused, seeming to think your question over before realizing he didn't know the answer, "hmm, i don't know."

"well, that sucks," you murmured as you wrote down something in your journal, a short 'still don't know' next to the question, "next time, i'll ask something you can answer. i-if that's okay!" you quickly added, not wanting to seem pushy or invasive with your questions.

"it's fine, (name), it's fine," he said with a smile, "i don't mind at all. besides, you gotta practice for when you're out taking notes of fish other than me," he chuckled as you pushed him, replying with an 'oh, shut up!' at his reply.

\---

and so, whenever the chance arose (and you were sure he really didn't mind), you asked him questions. not all the time, of course, as you had more to talk about than just things fueled by your curious brain.

but whenever the sun was high in the sky, brightly beaming past the occasional cloud and warming your skin, making the ice cold water of the pool feel as refreshing as ever, you asked him questions.

some were silly, filling the air with light laughter.

"do you think fish have feelings?" you asked once as the two of you were sitting in your living room, the last bits of schoolwork before summer started spread out between you two on the carpeted floor. minho, who'd been busy with his last few calculus problems, simply looked up from his paper and raised his eyebrows at you before looking back down at his paper and shaking his head with a smirk. giggling at his reaction, you were fine with his 'not-answer' as you simply wanted to clear the silence. you felt that it was enough and nothing more was really needed.

others were a little less silly, feeling more weighted than the others.

"when it rains, does it feel as good as being in the water?" you asked once over the phone as storm clouds seemed to be constantly hanging over your hometown. when it finally did rain, it trapped you in your dorm for the day and made you feel lethargic and sleepy, opting to simply call minho instead of meeting him at the library like you planned (he wasn't really planning on leaving his dorm either).

"kind of," he replied, voice a murmur and laced with sleep, "it...it feels nice, yes, and it makes it easier to shift, but it's not quite the same," yawning quietly, he hummed, prompting you to keep talking.

that, too, was enough for you. as you tried to stay awake to finish an essay for your class, you supposed you’d get a more detailed answer when the both of you weren’t struggling to stay in the waking world.

and then there were those that felt like they weighed as heavy as the world. that made you feel that, if you heard the answer, would open the floodgates and make you cry.

“would...would you ever want to go back? back to the ocean? and just...get away from it all?” you asked once, your voice quiet and shaky as you struggled to hold back tears. your week had probably been one of the worst weeks of your life, making you feel like your chest and head were going to burst from the overload of emotions you felt. the only relief from it all seemed to be minho, who held you and gently rubbed your back as the two of you sat on the couch in his dorm.

a few beats of silence passed and a quiet sigh left him before he replied, “sometimes. but...it’s hard to miss a home you’ve never really been to, don’t you think?” hearing a quiet ‘i suppose’ from your curled form in reply, he smiled softly as he tightened his arms a little, happy he could help take your mind off your horrible week for a few moments, “and besides, i’d miss you and the boys too much to stay away for long, anyways.”

and it was hearing his reply, hearing him say that he’d miss you, you who had felt like nothing more than a nuisance and forgettable during your terrible week was what made you wrap your arms around him and let yourself cry. 

not caring at the moment that you were staining his shirt with tears, he knew that his answer was enough.

\---

and, all the while as you asked from time to time, he truly didn't mind, for he didn't care if you had only one question or a thousand and one questions. to see the moments when you talked so excitedly and happily, eyes shining as bright as the sun in the sky and hands moving as if to paint pictures as you spoke, he'd answer as many questions you had for him and more.


End file.
